Apparatus for stacking substrates and method for the same

ABSTRACT

A substrate stacking apparatus that stacks first and second substrates on each other, by forming a contact region where the first substrate held by a first holding section and the second substrate held by a second holding section contact each other, at one portion of the first and second substrates, and expanding the contact region from the one portion by releasing holding of the first substrate by the first holding section, wherein an amount of deformation occurring in a plurality of directions at least in the first substrate differs when the contact region expands, and the substrate stacking apparatus includes a restricting section that restricts misalignment between the first and second substrates caused by a difference in the amount of deformation. In the substrate stacking apparatus above, the restricting section may restrict the misalignment such that an amount of the misalignment is less than or equal to a prescribed value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/618,615, filed Jun. 9, 2017, which is a continuation of NationalStage Entry of International Application No. PCT/JP2015/084570, filedDec. 9, 2015 which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2014-250427, filed Dec. 10, 2014. The entire contents of theabove-referenced applications are expressly incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a substrate stacking apparatus and asubstrate stacking method.

2. Related Art

There is a technique for manufacturing a layered semiconductor device bylayering substrates, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example.

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.    2013-098186

Even if substrates are aligned prior to being stacked, there are caseswhere circuits on the substrates become misaligned with each other whenobserved after the stacking of the substrates.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present invention, provided is asubstrate stacking apparatus that stacks a first substrate and a secondsubstrate on each other, by forming a contact region where the firstsubstrate held by a first holding section and the second substrate heldby a second holding section contact each other, at one portion of thefirst substrate and the second substrate, and then expanding the contactregion from the one portion by releasing holding of the first substrateby the first holding section, wherein an amount of deformation occurringin a plurality of directions at least in the first substrate differswhen the contact region expands, and the substrate stacking apparatuscomprises a restricting section that restricts misalignment between thefirst substrate and the second substrate caused by a difference in theamount of deformation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, provided is asubstrate processing method for stacking a first substrate and a secondsubstrate on each other, by forming a contact region, where the firstsubstrate held by a first holding section and the second substrate heldby a second holding section contact each other, at one portion of thefirst substrate and the second substrate, and then expanding the contactregion from the one portion by releasing holding of the first substrateby the first holding section, wherein an amount of deformation occurringin a plurality of directions at least in the first substrate differswhen the contact region expands, and the substrate processing methodcomprises restriction of restricting misalignment between the firstsubstrate and the second substrate caused by a difference in the amountof deformation.

The summary clause does not necessarily describe all necessary featuresof the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention mayalso be a sub-combination of the features described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic planar view of a substrate stacking apparatus 100.

FIG. 2 is a schematic planar view of a substrate 210.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure for stacking the substrates210.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aligner 300.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aligner 300.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aligner 300.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aligner 300.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the aligner 300.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the process of stackingthe substrates 211 and 213.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the substrates 211 and 213 in thestacking process.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the substrates 211 and 213 in thestacking process.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the substrates 211 and 213 in thestacking process.

FIG. 13 shows misalignment in the layered structure substrate 230.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of the correction method for the substrate210.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of the correction method for the substrate210.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of the correction method for the siliconsingle-crystal substrate 208.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view of the correction method for the siliconsingle-crystal substrate 208.

FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the correcting section601.

FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the correcting section601.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view for describing operation of the correctingsection 601.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view for describing correction of the substrate211 by the correcting section 601.

FIG. 22 is a schematic view for describing correction using thecorrecting section 601.

FIG. 23 is a schematic view for describing operation of the correctingsection 601.

FIG. 24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the correcting section602.

FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the correcting section602.

FIG. 26 is a schematic view for describing operation of the correctingsection 601.

FIG. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the correcting section603.

FIG. 28 is a schematic view for describing operation of the correctingsection 601.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed. The embodiments do not limit the invention according to theclaims, and all the combinations of the features described in theembodiments are not necessarily essential to means provided by aspectsof the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic planar view of a substrate stacking apparatus 100.The substrate stacking apparatus 100 includes a case 110, substratecassettes 120 and 130 and a control section 150 arranged outside thecase 110, and a transfer robot 140, an aligner 300, a holder stocker400, and a pre-aligner 500 arranged inside the case 110. The inside ofthe case 110 is temperature-controlled, and is held at room temperature,for example.

The substrate cassette 120 contains substrates 210 that will be stackedin the future. The substrate cassette 130 contains layered structuresubstrates 230 manufactured by stacking the substrates 210. Thesubstrate cassettes 120 and 130 can be individually attached to anddetached from the case 110.

By using the substrate cassette 120, it is possible to carry a pluralityof substrates 210 into the substrate stacking apparatus 100 at once.Furthermore, by using the substrate cassette 130, it is possible tocarry a plurality of layered structure substrates 230 out of thesubstrate stacking apparatus 100 at once.

The transfer robot 140 realizes a transferring function inside the case110. The transfer robot 140 transfers single substrates 210, substrateholders 220, substrate holders 220 holding substrates 210, layeredstructure substrates 230 formed by layering substrates 210, and thelike.

The control section 150 performs overall control of each component ofthe substrate stacking apparatus 100, in conjunction with each other.Furthermore, the control section 150 receives user instructions from theoutside and sets manufacturing conditions used when manufacturing thelayered structure substrates 230. Yet further, the control section 150also forms a user interface that displays the operational state of thesubstrate stacking apparatus 100 to the outside.

The aligner 300 includes a pair of stages that each hold a substrate 210and face each other, and forms the layered structure substrate 230 byaligning the substrates 210 held on the stages with each other and thenbringing these substrates 210 into contact with each other and stackingthe substrates 210. Furthermore, there are cases where the aligner 300performs a correction of the substrates 210, as described further below.

Inside the substrate stacking apparatus 100, the substrates 210 arehandled in a state where the substrates 210 are held by the substrateholders 220. The substrate holders 220 hold the substrates 210 throughattraction, such as by an electrostatic chuck. By handling the fragilesubstrate 210 integrally with the high-strength substrate holder 220,damage to the substrate 210 can be prevented and the operation of thesubstrate stacking apparatus 100 can be made faster.

The substrate holder 220 is made of a hard material such as aluminaceramics, and includes a holding portion that has substantially the samewidth as the surface area of the substrate 210 and an edge portionarranged outside the holding portion. Furthermore, the substrate holders220 are prepared inside the substrate stacking apparatus 100, and eachhold one substrate carried into the substrate stacking apparatus 100 ata time.

When a substrate 210 or layered structure substrate 230 is carried outof the substrate stacking apparatus 100, the substrate holder 220 isseparated from the substrate 210 or the layered structure substrate 230.Accordingly, the substrate holder 220 remains inside the substratestacking apparatus 100, and is used repeatedly. Therefore, the substrateholder 220 can be thought of as a portion of the substrate stackingapparatus 100. A substrate holder 220 that is not being used iscontained and preserved in the holder stocker 400.

The pre-aligner 500 works together with the transfer robot 140 to causethe substrate holder 220 to hold the substrates 210 carried therein.Furthermore, the pre-aligner 500 is also used when a layered structuresubstrate 230 carried out of the aligner 300 is separated from thesubstrate holder 220.

In the substrate stacking apparatus 100 such as described above, inaddition to substrates 210 having elements, circuits, terminals, and thelike formed thereon, it is also possible to bond unprocessed siliconwafers, compound semiconductor wafers, glass substrates, and the like.The bonding may include bonding a circuit substrate to an unprocessedsubstrate or bonding unprocessed substrates to each other. The bondedsubstrates 210 may themselves each be a layered structure substrate 230formed by previously layering a plurality of substrates.

FIG. 2 is a schematic planar view of a substrate 210 stacked in thesubstrate stacking apparatus 100. The substrate 210 includes a notch214, a plurality of circuit regions 216, and a plurality of alignmentmarks 218.

The notch 214 is thrilled in the circumferential edge of the substrate210, which has an overall substantially circular shape, and serves as amarker indicating the crystal orientation in the substrate 210. Whenhandling the substrate 210, it is possible to know the array directionor the like of the circuit regions 216 in the substrate 210 as well, bydetecting the position of the notch 214. Furthermore, if the circuitregions 216 are formed including circuits that are different from eachother on one substrate 210, it is possible to distinguish the circuitregions 216 from each other using the notch 214 as a reference.

The circuit regions 216 are arranged on the surface of the substrate 210periodically in the surface direction of the substrate 210. Each circuitregion 216 is provided with a semiconductor device, wiring, a protectivefilm, and the like formed by photolithography techniques or the like.Pads, bumps, or the like serving as connection terminals when thesubstrate 210 is electrically connected to another substrate 210, a leadframe, or the like are arranged in the circuit regions 216.

The alignment marks 218 are one example of structures formed on thesurface of the substrate 210, and are arranged overlapping with scribelines 212 arranged between the circuit regions 216. The alignment marks218 are used as markers when aligning this substrate 210 with anothersubstrate 210 that is a layering target.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure for manufacturing a layeredstructure substrate 230 by layering substrates 210 in the substratestacking apparatus 100. In the substrate stacking apparatus 100, first,one substrate 211 at a time is held by a substrate holder 220 in thepre-aligner 500 (step S101).

The substrate holder 221 holding the substrate 211 is carried into thealigner 300 along with the substrate 211 (step S102). Next, anothersubstrate 213 that is to be stacked on the substrate 211 is also carriedinto the aligner 300 while being held by a substrate holder 223.

FIGS. 4 to 8 are drawings for describing the structure and operation ofthe aligner 300. First, the structure of the aligner 300 will bedescribed.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the state of thealigner 300 immediately after the substrates 211 and 213 and thesubstrate holders 221 and 223 are carried. The aligner 300 in thesubstrate stacking apparatus 100 includes a frame 310, an upper stage322, and a lower stage 332.

The frame 310 includes a bottom plate 312 and a top plate 316 that areparallel to a horizontal floor surface 301, and a plurality of supportcolumns 314 that are perpendicular to a floor board. The bottom plate312, the support columns 314, and the top plate 316 form the cuboidframe 310 that houses the other components of the aligner 300.

The upper stage 322 is secured to the bottom surface of the top plate316 and faces downward, in the drawing. The upper stage 322 has aholding function realized by a vacuum chuck, an electrostatic chuck, orthe like. In the state shown in the drawing, the substrate 213 isalready held on the upper stage 322 along with the substrate holder 223.

A microscope 324 and an activation apparatus 326 are secured the bottomsurface of the top plate 316 at the side of the upper stage 322. Themicroscope 324 can monitor the top surface of the substrate 210 held bythe lower stage 332 arranged facing the upper stage 322. The activationapparatus 326 generates plasma for cleaning the top surface of thesubstrate 210 held by the lower stage 332. Oxygen plasma or nitrogenplasma, for example, is used as this plasma. The activation apparatuses326 and 336 may be equipped separately from the aligner 300, and maytransport the substrates and substrate holders into the aligner 300using a robot.

The lower stage 332 is mounted on the top surface, in the drawing, of aY-direction drive section 333 that overlaps with an X-direction drivesection 331 arranged on the top surface of the bottom plate 312. In thestate shown in the drawing, the substrate 211 is already held by thelower stage 332 along with the substrate holder 221. The substrateholder 221 continues holding the substrate 211, and the substrate 211 iskept in a corrected state.

The X-direction drive section 331 moves in the direction indicated bythe X arrow in the drawing, parallel to the bottom plate 312. TheY-direction drive section 333 moves on the X-direction drive section 331in the direction indicated by the Y arrow in the drawing, parallel tothe bottom plate 312. By combining the operations of this X-directiondrive section 331 and Y-direction drive section 333, the lower stage 332moves two-dimensionally parallel to the bottom plate 312.

Furthermore, the lower stage 332 is supported by a raising and loweringdrive section 338 that rises and falls in the direction indicated by theZ arrow, perpendicular to the bottom plate 312. In this way, it ispossible for the lower stage 332 to be raised and lowered relative tothe Y-direction drive section 333.

The movement amount of the lower stage 332 caused by the X-directiondrive section 331, the Y-direction drive section 333, and the raisingand lowering drive section 338 is measured with high precision using aninterferometer or the like. Furthermore, the X-direction drive section331 and the Y-direction drive section 333 may have a two-stageconfiguration including a coarse moving section and a fine movingsection. In this way, it is possible to realize both high-precisionalignment and high throughput, and to perform precise and high-speedbonding of the substrate 210 mounted on the lower stage 332.

A microscope 334 and the activation apparatus 336 are further mounted onthe Y-direction drive section 333, at the side of the lower stage 332.The microscope 334 can monitor the bottom surface of the substrate 210that is held by the upper stage 322 and faces downward. The activationapparatus 336 generates plasma for cleaning the bottom surface of thesubstrate 210 held by the upper stage 322.

The aligner 300 may further include a rotational drive section thatrotates the lower stage 332 around a rotational axis perpendicular tothe bottom plate 312, and a rocking drive section that rocks the lowerstage 332. In this way, the lower stage 332 can be made parallel to theupper stage 322 and the substrate 210 held by the lower stage 332 can berotated, thereby increasing the alignment precision of the substrate210.

The control section 150 calibrates the microscopes 324 and 334 relativeto each other in advance. As shown in FIG. 4, the microscopes 324 and334 are calibrated by aligning the focal points of the microscopes 324and 334 with each other. In this way, the relative positions of the pairof microscopes 324 and 334 in the aligner 300 are measured.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the control section 150 operates theX-direction drive section 331 and the Y-direction drive section 333 todetect alignment marks 218 provided on each of the substrates 211 and213 using the microscopes 324 and 334 (step S103 in FIG. 3). Thealignment marks 218 are detected by monitoring the surfaces of thesubstrates 210 with the microscopes 324 and 334. In this way, bydetecting the alignment marks 218 on each of the substrates 210 usingmicroscopes 324 and 334 whose relative positions are already known, therelative positions of the substrates 211 and 213 are determined (stepS104). Accordingly, based on these relative positions, a state in whichthe substrates 211 and 213 can be aligned with each other is realized.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the control section 150 chemically activateseach bonding surface of the pair of substrates 210, while keeping therelative positions of the pair of substrates 211 and 213 stored (stepS105 in FIG. 3). First, the control section 150 operates the lower stage332 to move horizontally after resetting the position of the lower stage332 to the initial position, and causes the surfaces of the substrates211 and 213 to be scanned using the plasma generated by the activationapparatuses 326 and 336. In this way, the surface of each substrate 211and 213 is cleaned and the chemical activity thereof is increased.Therefore, a state is realized in which the substrates 211 and 213 areattracted bonded autonomously just by approaching each other.

In the example described above, the substrate 210 held by the lowerstage 332 is exposed to the plasma P generated by the activationapparatus 326 supported on the top plate 316, thereby cleaning thesurface of the substrate 210. Furthermore, the substrate 210 held by theupper stage 322 is exposed to the plasma P generated by the activationapparatus 336 mounted on the Y-direction drive section 333, therebycleaning the surface of the substrate 210.

The activation apparatuses 326 and 336 radiate the plasma P respectivelyin directions away from the microscopes 324 and 334. In this way, debrisgenerated from the substrates 210 being irradiated with the plasma isprevented from contaminating the microscopes 324 and 334.

Furthermore, the aligner 300 shown in the drawing includes theactivation apparatuses 326 and 336 for activating the substrates 210,but by carrying substrates 210 that have already been activated into thealigner 300 using activation apparatuses 326 and 336 provided separatelyfrom the aligner 300, the aligner 300 can have a configuration thatomits the activation apparatuses 326 and 336.

Furthermore, instead of a method using exposure to plasma, thesubstrates 210 can be activated through sputter etching using an inertgas, an ion beam, a high-speed atom beam, or the like. If an ion beam orhigh-speed atom beam is used, the beam can be generated with the aligner300 at reduced pressure. Yet further, the substrates 210 can beactivated using ultraviolet radiation, an ozone asher, or the like. Inaddition, the surfaces of the substrates 210 may be activated by beingchemically cleaned, using a liquid or gaseous etchant, for example.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the control section 150 aligns the substrates211 and 213 with each other (step S106 of FIG. 3). First, the controlsection 150 operates the lower stage 332 to move in a manner to matchthe positions of the alignment marks 218 of the substrates 211 and 213in the surface direction, based on the relative positions of themicroscopes 324 and 334 detected initially and the positions of thealignment marks 218 of the substrates 211 and 213 detected at step S103.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the control section 150 operates the raisingand lowering drive section 338 to arise the lower stage 332, therebybringing the substrates 211 and 213 into contact with each other (stepS107). In this way, the substrates 211 and 213 are brought into contactwith each other at one portion and bonded.

Furthermore, since the surfaces of the substrates 211 and 213 areactivated, when the substrates 211 and 213 contact each other at oneportion, adjacent regions thereof are autonomously attracted and bondedto each other due to the intermolecular force between the substrates 211and 213. Accordingly, as an example, by releasing the hold on thesubstrate 213 by the upper stage 322, contact regions of the substrates211 and 213, i.e. the regions where the substrates 211 and 213 arebonded, sequentially expand to adjacent regions. As a result, a bondingwave is generated in which the bonded regions sequentially expand, andthe bonding of the substrates 211 and 213 progresses. In other words,the bonding progresses due to the boundary between the contact regionsand the non-contact regions of the substrates 211 and 213 moving towardthe non-contact regions. Finally, the substrates 211 and 213 contactacross the entirety of their surfaces, and are bonded together (stepS108 of FIG. 3). As a result, the substrates 211 and 213 form thelayered structure substrate 230.

In the process described above by which the bonding regions between thesubstrates 211 and 213 expands, the control section 150 may release thehold on the substrate 213 by the substrate holder 223. Furthermore, thehold on the substrate holder 223 by the upper stage 322 may also bereleased.

Furthermore, the bonding between the substrates 211 and 213 may be madeto progress by releasing the substrate 211 from the lower stage 332without releasing the substrate 213 from the upper stage 322. Yetfurther, the substrates 211 and 213 may be bonded by bringing the upperstage 322 and the lower stage 332 closer together while keeping both thesubstrates 213 and 211 held by the upper stage 322 and the lower stage332.

The layered structure substrate 230 formed in this way is carried out ofthe aligner 300 by the transfer robot 140 (step S109), and housed in thesubstrate cassette 130. When the substrate holder 223 releases the holdon the upper substrate 213, this substrate holder 223 continues beingheld by the upper stage 322.

In the step of carrying the layered structure substrate 230 out of thealigner 300, there are cases where the substrate holder 221 held by thelower stage 332 still holds the substrate 211. Accordingly, in such acase, the substrate holder 221 is carried out along with the layeredstructure substrate 230, and the layered structure substrate 230 may betransferred to the substrate cassette 130 after the layered structuresubstrate 230 and the substrate holder 221 are separated in thepre-aligner 500.

FIG. 9 shows a state of the substrates 211 and 213 in the process ofstacking by the aligner 300 such as described above. FIG. 9 shows astate at the time when the substrates 211 and 213 begin to contact eachother in step S107 of FIG. 3.

The substrate holders 222 and 223 include electrostatic chucks or thelike, and respectively hold the substrates 211 and 213 by attracting theentirety of the corresponding substrate thereto. Accordingly, when theholding surface is flat such as that of the substrate holder 222 shownin the bottom portion of the drawing, the substrate 211 is held flat.Furthermore, when the holding surface forms a round surface, e.g. acylindrical surface, a spherical surface, a parabolic surface, or thelike such as the substrate holder 223 shown in the top portion of thedrawing, the substrate 213 attracted thereto is also deformed to formsuch a curved surface.

By performing bonding in a state where at least one of the substrates211 and 213 is deformed such that the inner sides thereof protrude inthe surface direction of the substrates 211 and 213 protrude, such asdescribed above, the bonding between the substrates 211 and 213progresses from the inner sides to the outer sides in the surfacedirection of the substrates 211 and 213. In this way, air bubbles(voids) or the like are prevented from remaining inside the layeredstructure substrate 230 formed by the bonding.

Furthermore, in a case where one of the substrates 211 and 213 continuesto be held and the other is released in the stacking of the substrates211 and 213, it is preferable that whichever of the substrates 211 and213 is predicted to have a stretching amount with a greater and/or amore complex amount of unevenness and/or to have structures with higheranisotropy continues to be held, while the other is released to performstacking. In this way, the correction of the misalignment of the circuitregion 216 is more easily reflected in the layered structure substrate230.

Furthermore, in the stacking of the substrates 211 and 213, thesubstrates 211 and 213 may continue to be held by the aligner 300 untilthe bonding of the substrates 211 and 213 is completed. In this case,the substrates 211 and 213 are pressed together across the entirety ofthe surfaces thereof, while the positioning of the substrates 211 and213 by the substrate holders 221 and 223 or the stages holding thesubstrates 211 and 213 is maintained.

FIGS. 10 to 12 are drawings showing the change of the state during theprocess of stacking the substrates 211 and 213 shown in FIG. 9, andcorrespond to the region shown by the dotted line Q in FIG. 9. Duringthe process in which the stacking progresses in step S108, the boundaryK between the contact region where the substrates 211 and 213 arestacked on each other and the non-contact region where the substrates211 and 213 are still distanced from each other but will become stackedmoves from the centers of the substrate 211 and 213 toward the edgeportions.

Therefore, at the boundary K, stretching deformation unavoidably occursin the substrate 213 that has been released from the holding by thesubstrate holder 223. More specifically, at the boundary K, thesubstrate 213 stretches at the bottom surface side of the substrate 213in the drawing and contracts at the top surface side of the substrate213 in the drawing, relative to the surface A at the center of thesubstrate 213 in the thickness direction.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which, from the state shown in FIG. 10, theboundary K has moved toward the edge portions of the substrates 211 and213, from the same viewpoint as in FIG. 10. The substrate 213 contactingthe substrate 211 has a contact surface area that gradually expands fromthe center portion where the initial contact occurs toward the edgeportion that was initially distanced from the lower substrate 211.

Furthermore, as shown by the dotted lines in the drawing, the substratedeforms as if the scaling factor of the surface of the substrate 213 isexpanding relative to the substrate 211, at the outer end of the regionof the substrate 213 bonded to the substrate 211. Therefore, appearingas a skew in the dotted lines in the drawing, misalignment due to thedifferent extension amount of the substrate 213 in the surface directionthereof occurs between the lower substrate 211 held by the substrateholder 222 and the upper substrate 213 released from the substrateholder 223. In other words, the amount of deformation of the substrate213 differs according to the expansion direction of the contact regionbetween the substrates 211 and 213 and, due to this difference in theamount of deformation, the misalignment occurs between the substrates211 and 213. The expansion direction of the contact region includes adirection that is perpendicular to the tangent of the boundary of thecontact region, a direction of this tangent, and a direction along thisboundary, and if the substrates 211 and 213 make contact from thecenters, this expansion direction also includes a radial direction and acircumferential direction of the substrates 211 and 213.

FIG. 12 shows a state in which, from the state shown in FIG. 11, thebonding of the substrate 213 to the substrate 211 progresses further,and the bonding of the substrates 211 and 213 approaches completion.When the activated surfaces of the substrates 211 and 213 contact eachother, the substrates are bonded together and form a single body.Therefore, at the bonding interface, the misalignment occurring betweenthe substrates 211 and 213 is secured by the bonding.

FIG. 13 shows the misalignment amount of the substrate 211 relative tothe substrate 213 in the layered structure substrate 230 manufactured bystacking the substrates 211 and 213 using a process such as describedabove. In the drawing, the direction of the arrows indicates thedirection of the misalignment and the length of the arrows indicates themagnitude of the misalignment. As shown in the drawing, the misalignmentbetween the substrates 211 and 213 occurs across substantially theentire surface of the layered structure substrate 230, and furthermore,the misalignment amount is greater closer to the edge portion of thelayered structure substrate 230.

Therefore, the misalignment amount changes and does not remain uniformover the entirety of the substrates 211 and 213. Accordingly, even ifthe alignment of the entirety of the substrates 211 and 213 is adjustedin step S106 shown in FIG. 3, it is impossible to eliminate themisalignment in the entirety of the substrates 211 and 213 caused bythis uneven stretching amount.

As a reason for unevenness occurring in the amount of deformation, thereare the following problems in addition to the rigidity distribution inthe substrates. If connecting portions made from metal such as Cu, forexample, are embedded in the oxide film layers formed on the surfaces ofthe substrates, a difference occurs between the intermolecular forceacting between the oxide films and the intermolecular force actingbetween the connecting portions in the two substrates during bonding,thereby causing a change in the degree of progression, i.e. theprogression speed and the progression amount, of the bonding wave. Inparticular, when the surfaces of the connecting portions are positionedlower than those of the oxide films, the attractive force between theconnection portions becomes weaker and the progression of the bondingwave becomes slower.

A method for preventing this problem can be exemplified by arranging theconnecting portions on the line of the boundary K shown in FIG. 10 tomatch the timings at which the bonding wave passes through the pluralityof connecting portions. It is also possible to control the progressionspeed of the bonding wave by arranging dummy connecting portions thatare not targets of electrical bonding. Furthermore, if the substrateshave a rigidity distribution, the connecting portions and dummyconnecting portions may be arranged in consideration of this rigiditydistribution.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a layout of a substrate 501 obtained byaltering the substrate 211, with the objective of correcting themisalignment described above when stacking the substrate 501 on thesubstrate 211. In the substrate 501, when forming the circuit regions216 across the entire substrate 501 by repeatedly performing exposureusing the same mask, the shot map is corrected such that the intervalsbetween the circuit regions 216 become gradually wider from the centerof the substrate 501, which is the position of contact with thesubstrate 211, toward the edge portion thereof.

In this way, the misalignment occurring when the substrate 501 is bondedto the substrate 213 is corrected by the layout of the substrate 501itself, and misalignment of circuits is restricted across the entirelayered structure substrate 230. Accordingly, it is possible to improvethe yield of layered semiconductor devices obtained after dicing thelayered structure substrate 230 manufactured by layering the substrate213 and the substrate 501.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a layout of a substrate 502 obtained byaltering the substrate 211, with the objective of correcting themisalignment described above when stacking the substrate 502 on thesubstrate 211. In the substrate 502, when forming the circuit regions216 across the entire substrate 502 by repeatedly performing exposureusing the same mask, the exposure pattern is optically controlled suchthat the scaling factor of the structures on the substrate 502 becomesgradually higher from the center of the substrate 502, which is theposition of contact with the substrate 213, toward the edge portionthereof, i.e. along the progression direction of the bonding wave. Theprogression direction of the bonding wave includes a direction along theradial direction of the substrates 211 and 213, among the expansiondirections of the contact regions of the substrates 211 and 213.Therefore, in the substrate 502, the scaling factor of the structures onthe surface of the substrate 502 becomes higher closer to the edgeportion of the substrate 502.

In this way, the misalignment occurring when the substrate 502 is bondedto the substrate 213 is corrected by the layout of the substrate 502itself, and misalignment of circuits is restricted across the entirelayered structure substrate 230. Accordingly, it is possible to improvethe yield of layered semiconductor devices obtained after dicing thelayered structure substrate 230 manufactured by layering the substrate213 and the substrate 502.

In the examples of FIGS. 14 and 15, the amount of deformation in the 45°direction of the substrate 501 is greater than the amount ofdeformations in the 0° direction and the 90° direction, and thereforethe shot interval in the 45° direction is adjusted. However, if theamount of deformation of the substrate 501 is equal or almost equal inall directions, the shot interval and shot shape can be adjusted in alldirections in the same manner. Furthermore, in FIGS. 14 and 15, if aplurality of chips are formed in a single shot, the shapes of andintervals between the plurality of chips in the single shot may beadjusted in a manner to change from the center of the substrate 501 orsubstrate 502 toward the edge portion thereof.

Furthermore, if the amount of deformation in a certain direction isgreater than the amount of deformation in another direction in thesubstrate 502, for example, the difference in the amounts of deformationmay be corrected by exposing the substrate in a state where deformationhas occurred in a manner to correct the difference in the amounts ofdeformation, and eliminating the deformation after the exposure. Forexample, if the top side in the drawing at which the notch 214 isprovided is 0°, when it is judged that the amount of deformation in theradial direction every 45° is greater than the amount of deformation inanother direction, the pattern of the circuit region 216 is transferredby performing exposure in a state where the substrate 502 contracts ineach radial direction including 45°, 135°, 225°, and 315° using aactuator or the like.

Here, when causing the substrate 502 to contract, it is possible toprevent the occurrence of misalignment of the circuit regions 216 due tothe exposure, by causing the substrate 502 to contract while staying ina flat state. Such a contraction method can include, for example,causing the substrate 502 to contract in a state where the substrateholder is deflected, and then releasing the substrate holder from thedeflected state and returning the substrate holder to the flat state,thereby causing the substrate 502 to contract in a flat state as aresult.

After this, it is possible to correct the amount of deformation of thesubstrate 502 in a prescribed radial direction by releasing thedeformation of the substrate 502 by the actuator to remove thecontraction of the substrate 502. The amount of deformation of thesubstrate 502 in the exposure is determined according to the correctionamount to be achieved in the substrate 502.

The correction for a region corresponding to a progression direction inwhich the amount of deformation of the substrate 213 is large isperformed using a region corresponding to a progression direction inwhich the amount of deformation is small as a reference, but thecorrection for a region with a small amount of deformation may beperformed using a region with a large amount of deformation as areference. Furthermore, correction is performed for misalignmentoccurring in a region having an amount of deformation for which thedifference relative to a reference amount of deformation is greater thanor equal to a prescribed value. In this case, the prescribed value isthe value occurring when the electrical connection between theconnecting portions of two substrates is lost due to misalignment, andthe connecting portions are connected to each other when the differenceis less than the prescribed value.

It should be noted that the unevenness in the stretching amount thatresults in the misalignment of the circuit regions 216 in the substrates211 and 213 also occurs because of factors different from the changesdependent on the radial direction between the substrates 211 and 213.FIGS. 16 and 17 show exemplary relationships of the crystal orientationand Young's modulus in silicon single-crystal substrates 208 and 209.

As shown in FIG. 16, in the silicon single-crystal substrate 208 havingthe (100) surface as the front surface, at the X-Y coordinates where thedirection of the notch 214 is at 0° relative to the center, there is ahigh Young's modulus of 169 GPa at the 0° direction and the 90°direction, and a low Young's modulus of 130 GPa at the 45° direction.Therefore, in the substrate 210 manufactured using the siliconsingle-crystal substrate 208, an uneven bending rigidity distributionoccurs in the circumferential direction of the substrate 210. In otherwords, the bending rigidity of the substrate 210 differs according tothe progression direction when the bonding wave progresses from thecenter of the substrate 210 toward the edge portion. The bendingrigidity indicates the ease of deformation relative to the bending forceapplied to the substrate 210, and may be the modulus of elasticity.

In the regions having different bending rigidities in the substrate 210shown in FIG. 2, the magnitude of the deformation occurring in theprocess of stacking and bonding the pair of substrates 211 and 213differs according to the bending rigidity, as described with referenceto FIGS. 10 to 12. Therefore, in the layered structure substrate 230manufactured by layering the substrates 211 and 213, uneven misalignmentof the circuit regions 216 occurs in the circumferential direction ofthe layered structure substrate 230.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, in the silicon single-crystalsubstrate 209 having the (110) surface as the front surface, at the X-Ycoordinates where the direction of the notch 214 is at 0° relative tothe center, Young's modulus at the 45° direction is the highest, andYoung's modulus at the 0° direction is the next highest. Furthermore, inthe 90° direction, Young's modulus of the silicon single-crystalsubstrate 209 is the lowest. Therefore, in the substrate 210manufactured using the silicon single-crystal substrate 209, an unevenand complex bending rigidity distribution occurs in the circumferentialdirection of the substrate 210. Accordingly, in the same manner as thesilicon single-crystal substrate 208 shown in FIG. 16, when performingmanufacturing by layering the substrates 211 and 213, unevenmisalignment of the circuit regions 216 occurs in the circumferentialdirection of the layered structure substrate 230.

In this way, when manufacturing the layered structure substrate 230 bystacking the substrates 211 and 213 manufactured using the siliconsingle-crystal substrates 208 and 209, misalignment of the circuitregions 216 occurs due to the uneven stretching amount in thecircumferential direction. Accordingly, before stacking and bonding thesubstrates 211 and 213, the misalignment of the circuit regions 216 dueto the uneven stretching amount of the substrates 211 and 213 iscorrected.

In FIGS. 16 and 17, examples are shown in which the direction of thenotch 214 is arranged at the position of 0°, but the position of thenotch 214 only needs to be arranged in a manner to enable identificationof the crystal orientation of the silicon single-crystal substrates 208and 209, and only needs to be arranged at a prescribed position relativeto the crystal direction. Furthermore, the X-Y coordinates are set usingthe notch 214 as a reference, but the X-Y coordinates may be set usingthe crystal direction of the silicon single-crystal substrates 208 and209 itself as a reference. Yet further, in FIGS. 16 and 17, the bendingrigidity of the silicon single-crystal substrates 208 and 209 in the 0°,45°, and 90° directions are shown, but when a silicon single-crystalsubstrate whose crystal orientation does not match the 0°, 45°, or 90°directions is used, for example, the bending rigidity relative to thecrystal orientation may be used.

In the manner described above, when substrates 211 and 213 havinganisotropic stretching amounts are stacked in a state where thesubstrates 211 and 213 are held by the substrate holders 221 and 223 orthe stages of the aligner 300, the crystal orientations of thesubstrates 211 and 213 may be made different from each other. Forexample, the circuit regions 216 may be formed with arrangements shiftedby 45° on substrates having the same crystal orientation, and stackingmay be performed. In this way, the shift of the circuit regions 216caused by the anisotropy of the rigidities of the substrates 211 and 213is not manifested as a misalignment just by a directional rotation of45°. Furthermore, the circuit regions may be formed on substrates 211and 213 having different crystal orientations from each other, andstacking may be performed. In this way, other non-linear shifts that aredependent on the crystal orientation or the like can be corrected byshifting the crystal orientations according to the combination.

Variation in the thicknesses of the substrates 211 and 213 is anothercause of unevenness in the stretching amounts of the substrates 211 and213. In the substrates 211 and 213, a thick region has high bendingrigidity, while a thin region has low bending rigidity. Therefore, whenstacking the substrates 211 and 213 without performing a correction,misalignment of the circuit regions 216 occurs due to the unevenness ofthe stretching amount corresponding to the thickness distribution.

Furthermore, the structures of the circuit regions formed on thesubstrates 211 and 213 also affect the bending rigidity of thesubstrates 211 and 213. In the substrates 211 and 213, the circuitregions 216 in which elements, wiring, protective films, and the likeare deposited have higher bending rigidity than the scribe lines 212where nothing is formed other than the alignment marks 218. The scribelines 212 are formed in a lattice shape on the substrates 211 and 213,and therefore have low rigidity with respect to bending caused by foldsparallel to the scribe line 212 and have high rigidity with respect tobending caused by folds that intersect the scribe lines 212.

In this way, unevenness in the stretching amount when stacking thesubstrates also occurs due to the structures formed on the surfaces ofthe substrates 211 and 213. In other words, it is also possible tocorrect the unevenness of the bending rigidity of the substrates 211 and213 by using the layout of the structures on the substrates 211 and 213.

For example, it is possible to reinforce the bending rigidity byarranging the connecting portions such as the dummy pads, bumps, and thelike in empty regions of the substrates 211 and 213. Furthermore, it ispossible to correct the unevenness of the bending rigidity by adjustingthe density and arrangement of the structures such as bumps, circuits,and the like within a single chip. For example, the density of thestructures in a chip formed in a region with high bending rigidity ismade low, and the density of the structures in a chip formed in a regionwith low bending rigidity is made high.

It is also possible to reinforce the bending rigidity of a substrate byforming the protective films, insulating films, and the like even inregions where other elements, wiring, and the like are formed andadjusting the thickness, materials, and the like of these films.Furthermore, the anisotropy of the rigidities of the substrates 211 and213 caused by the scribe lines 212 may be ameliorated by forming thescribe lines 212 with a shape other than a lattice formed by straightlines. Yet further, in the silicon single-crystal substrate 208 shown inFIG. 16, for example, when the shift amount, i.e. the amount ofdeformation, relative to the substrates being stacked is greater in the0° and 90° directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° directionbeing low, by changing the intervals and shapes of the shots and chipsfrom the center of the silicon single-crystal substrate 208 toward theedge portion as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, it is possible to correct themisalignment of the circuit regions 216 caused by the uneven stretchingamounts of the substrates 211 and 213. In this way, it is possible toset the misalignment amount between the pair of substrates being stackedon each other to be within a prescribed range in which the circuits ofthe pair of substrates are to be bonded to each other.

There are cases where, in the substrates 211 and 213, the bendingrigidity of each region differs according to the residual stress causedby the stress occurring in the process of forming the circuit region 216or the like or the process of forming the oxide film of the substrate.Furthermore, when deformation such as warping occurs in the substrates211 and 213 in the process of forming the circuit region 216, unevennessin the bending rigidity occurs in each region where warping occursaccording to the deformation. The unevenness of the bending rigiditycaused by the structures such as described above can also help with suchcorrection of the unevenness of the bending rigidity caused by thestates of the substrates 211 and 213 themselves.

The correction amount when correcting the misalignment may be obtainedby, for example, manufacturing a test piece having the samespecifications as the product using the substrate stacking apparatus 100and measuring the misalignment amount occurring in the circuit regions216. By performing the correction using the measurement value obtainedin this way, it is possible to effectively perform a correction inaccordance with the product.

There are cases where it is possible to cancel out the unevenness in thestretching amount in each of the substrates 211 and 213 and decrease themisalignment correction amount, by predetermining a combination ofsubstrates 211 and 213 to be stacked on each other and correcting thesesubstrates 211 and 213 relative to each other. On the other hand, it isalso possible to eliminate restrictions on the combinations ofsubstrates 211 and 213 to be stacked by correcting the misalignment ineach of the substrates 211 and 213.

By detecting or measuring the rigidity distribution in advance for eachof the substrates 211 and 213, alignment between substrates may beperformed in a manner to, when aligning the substrates 211 and 213 oneach other, cause the total values of the rigidities to be equal betweenthe substrates or to cause the total rigidity value to be within aprescribed range. In this case, the structures such as the shots, chips,and circuits of one substrate in the pair of substrate being stacked oneach other may be formed at positions according to the rigiditydistribution based on the crystal anisotropy of the other substrate.

When stacking substrates that have the same or similar crystalorientations as each other, by performing stacking with regions havingthe same or almost the same bending rigidity or modulus of elasticity orregions between which the difference in the rigidity or modulus ofelasticity is less than or equal to a prescribed threshold value areopposite each other, the difference in amount of deformation caused bythe rigidity distribution is restricted from occurring between thesubstrates. Here, the prescribed threshold value is the value occurringwhen the electrical connection between the connecting portions of twosubstrates is lost due to misalignment between the two substrates causedby the difference in rigidity, and the connecting portions are connectedto each other when the difference is greater than the threshold value.In this case, after the pair of substrates are made to partially contacteach other in a state where the substrates are held by the stages or thesubstrate holders, the hold on both substrates in the pair is preferablyreleased.

Furthermore, when non-linear scaling deformation occurs due to stress orthe like occurring in one of the substrates during the circuit formationor oxide film formation, another substrate may be selected such that, asa result of the deformation state caused in the process of the bondingwave matching the one substrate, i.e. as a result of deformation, theposition of the circuits of the other substrate match the positions ofthe circuits of the one substrate. In this way, by selecting substrateshaving rigidity distributions corresponding to a deformation state of asubstrate that has an initial deformity, it is possible to restrict themisalignment between the substrates. In this case, it is preferable thatthe one substrate described above is secured to the stage or substrateholder and the hold on the other substrate is released, thereby bondingthe other substrate to the one substrate.

An atmospheric pressure adjusting section that adjusts the atmosphericpressure around at least a pair of substrates 211 and 213 may beprovided. The atmospheric pressure adjusting section can control theamount of deformation of at least one substrate in the pair ofsubstrates 211 and 213, by adjusting the amount of gas that is presentin the pair of substrates 211 and 213 according to the deformationdistribution of the one substrate 211 in the pair of substrates 211 and213. For example, when the pressure around the pair of substrates 211and 213 is reduced, it is possible to reduce the pressure received fromthe gas present between the pair of substrates 211 and 213. In this way,it is possible to decrease the amount of deformation of the substrate211 caused by this pressure. For example, in the silicon single-crystalsubstrate 208 shown in FIG. 16, when the shift amount, i.e. the amountof deformation, relative to the substrates being stacked is greater inthe 0° and 90° directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45°direction being low, by reducing the pressure around the region in the45° direction, it is possible to reduce the difference in the amount ofdeformation relative to the 0° and 90° regions.

Furthermore, by adjusting the degree of activation of at least onesubstrate in the pair of substrates 211 and 213, it is possible torestrict the unevenness of the amount of deformation caused by therigidity distribution of the at least one substrate. For example, in thesilicon single-crystal substrate 208 shown in FIG. 16, when the amountof deformation is greater in the 0° and 90° directions due to thebending rigidity in the 45° direction being low, the attractive force onthe other substrate is improved compared to that of the regions by 0°and 90° directions by increasing the degree of activation of the regionin the 45° direction. In this way, it is possible to adjust the amountof deformation of the region in the 45° direction. In this case, it ispreferable to release the one substrate whose degree of activation wasadjusted from the stage or substrate holder, and to hold the othersubstrate on the stage or substrate holder. The degree of activation isadjusted by adjusting the plasma irradiation time, the plasmairradiation amount, the elapsed time after activation, the type ofplasma, or the like. In other words, it is possible to increase thedegree of activation by increasing the irradiation time, increasing theirradiation amount, or decreasing the elapsed time.

Furthermore, in addition to the correction made for each of thesubstrates 211 and 213 as described above, a correction of theunevenness of the stretching amount of the substrates 211 and 213 can bemade in the step where the substrates 211 and 213 are stacked as well.FIG. 18 is a schematic view of a correcting section 601 that can correctthe unevenness of the stretching amount at the step of stacking thesubstrates 211 and 213, in the aligner 300. Furthermore, an optimalbonding solution may be used in consideration of the pattern arrangementof HOT (Hybrid-Orientation Technology) which considers the optimalsurface orientation of PMOS and NMOS, which are CMOS configurationalelements.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of the correcting section 601 that can beused when correcting the substrates 211 and 213 in the aligner 300. Thecorrecting section 601 is incorporated in the lower stage 332 in thealigner 300.

The correcting section 601 includes a base portion 411, a plurality ofactuators 412, and an attracting section 413. The base portion 411supports the attracting section 413 via the actuators 412. The pluralityof actuators 412 are arranged in the surface direction of the lowerstage 332, are provided individually with operational liquid via a pump415 and valves 416 from the outside under the control of the controlsection 150, and individually extend and contract by different movementamounts.

The attracting section 413 has an attraction mechanism such as a vacuumchuck or electrostatic chuck, and attracts the substrate holder 221holding the substrate 211 to the top surface thereof. In this way, thesubstrate 211, the substrate holder 221, and the attracting section 413form a single body.

The attracting section 413 is coupled to the plurality of actuators 412via links. The center of the attracting section 413 is coupled to thebase portion 411 by a support column 414. When the actuators 412 areoperated in the correcting section 601, each region coupled to anactuator 412 is displaced in the thickness direction of the lower stage332.

FIG. 19 is a schematic planar view of the correcting section 601, andshows the layout of actuators 412 in the correcting section 601. In thecorrecting section 601, the actuators 412 are arranged radially with thesupport column 414 at the center. Furthermore, the arrangement of theactuators 412 can be thought of as being concentric circles with thesupport column 414 as the center. The arrangement of the actuators 412is not limited to the arrangement shown in FIG. 19, and may be a latticearrangement, for example.

FIG. 20 is a drawing for describing the operation of the correctingsection 601. As shown in the drawing, by individually opening andclosing the valves 416 in a state where the substrate holder 221 holdingthe substrate 211 is attracted to the attracting section 413, it ispossible to deform the substrate 211 on the lower stage 332 of thealigner 300.

As shown in FIG. 19, the actuators 412 can be regarded as being arrangedin concentric circles, i.e. in the circumferential direction of thelower stage 332. Accordingly, as shown by the dotted line M in FIG. 19,by grouping the actuators 412 in each circle and increasing theextension amount when closer to the center, it is possible to cause aprotrusion in the center of the surface of the attracting section 413and cause a deformation that is spherical, parabolic, or the like, asshown in FIG. 20. In this way, the substrate holder 221 and thesubstrate 211 held by the attracting section 413 are also deformed tohave surfaces that are spherical, parabolic, or the like.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view for describing the correction performed bythe correcting section 601. FIG. 21 shows a portion of the substrates211 and 213 in the stacking process, in the same manner as in FIG. 9.

In the stacking process, as described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12,the substrate 213 being stacked on the substrate 211 experiencesstretching deformation on the bottom surface in the drawing being bondedto the substrate 211, at the boundary K between the region alreadybonded to the substrate 211 and the region that is to be bonded but isstill distanced from the substrate 211. In contrast, in the state wherethe correcting section 601 has operated, the center of the substrate 211protrudes more than the edges, and the overall surface of the substrate211 forms a spherical or parabolic surface. Therefore, the top surfaceof the substrate 211 in the drawing bonded to the substrate 213 widenscompared to the flat state, as shown by the dotted lines in the drawing.

In this way, by operating the correcting section 601, the bondingsurfaces of both the substrate 211 and the substrate 213 deform bystretching, and therefore the misalignment of the circuit regions 216between the substrates 211 and 213 is corrected. Each actuator 412 canbe controlled individually by the correcting section 601. Accordingly,even if the substrate 211 to be corrected has an uneven stretchingamount distribution, it is possible to perform correction with differentcorrection amounts in each region of the substrate 211. The driveamounts, e.g. the displacement amounts, of the plurality of actuators412 are set according to the misalignment amount between the substrates211 and 213 caused by the difference of the amounts of deformation inthe surface of at least one of the substrates 211 and 213. At this time,as described above, the result of a misalignment amount occurring fromexperimental bonding using substrates having an equivalent usage as thetwo substrates 211 and 213 being bonded may be used.

For example, in the same manner as the silicon single-crystal substrate208 shown in FIG. 16, when the shift amount is greater in the 0° and 90°directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° direction being low inthe substrate 213, the actuators 412 are controlled such that the heightposition of the portion of the substrate holder 221 corresponding to theregion of the substrate 213 in the 45° direction is relatively higherthan the height position of the portion corresponding to the regions inthe 0° and 90° directions. In this way, it is possible to make the airlayer between the region of the substrate 213 in the 45° direction andthe corresponding region of the substrate 211 thinner and to make theresistance received from this air layer lower, and therefore it ispossible to reduce the difference in the amount of deformation in thesurface caused by the unevenness of the rigidity distribution of thesilicon single-crystal substrate 208.

Alternatively, when the shift amount is greater in the 0° and 90°directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° direction being low inthe substrate 213, by making the height position of the portion of thesubstrate holder 221 corresponding to the region of the substrate 213 inthe 45° direction relatively lower than the height position of theportion corresponding to the regions in the 0° and 90° directions, theregion of the substrate 211 in the 45° direction is stretched. Thisheight difference is set according to the amount of deformation of theregion of the substrate 213 in the 45° direction.

FIG. 22 shows another distribution of the misalignment of the circuitregions 216 occurring in the layered structure substrate 230 due to theuneven distribution of the stretching amount. The misalignment caused bythe differences in the crystal orientations of the substrates, thephysical properties of the scribe lines, or the like has a paralleldistribution in the layered structure substrate 230, as shown by thedotted line R in the drawing.

FIG. 23 shows a method by which the correcting section 601 performs thecorrection when anisotropy occurs in the misalignment amountdistribution. As shown in the drawing, when correcting the misalignmentthat has a distribution in a specified direction, as shown by the dottedline N in FIG. 19, the actuators 412 lined up in a column are extendedto deform the attracting section 413 of the correcting section 601 intoa cylindrical shape. For example, when this misalignment is caused bythe crystal orientation of the substrate and the crystal direction isalong the dotted line R of FIG. 22, the substrate 211 is curved on aline orthogonal to the dotted line R. In this way, the progressiondirection of the bonding wave of the substrate stacked on the substrate211 is along the crystal direction. Therefore, the stretchingdeformation occurs in the substrate 211 only in the circumferentialdirection of the cylindrical surface formed by the attracting section413. In this way, it is possible to correct the misalignment of thesubstrate 211 in the specified direction.

When using the correcting section 601, it is possible to continuouslychange the correction amount according to the amount of operationalfluid supplied to the actuators 412. However, when stacking a largenumber of substrates 211 having equivalent correction methods andcorrection amounts, it is possible to stack the substrate 211 whilecorrecting the misalignment amount with a simple aligner 300 that doesnot include the correcting section 601, by preparing the substrateholder 221 that holds the substrate 211 with a holding surface that hasa shape reflecting the correction amount. Furthermore, the unevenstretching amount may be corrected by providing the substrate holder 221with a characteristic that decreases the unevenness of the stretchingamount of the substrate 211 and holding the substrate 211 with thesubstrate holder 221.

For example, by holding the substrate 211 with the substrate holder 221having low rigidity at the portion corresponding to the position of thesubstrate 211 that has high bending rigidity and having high rigidity atthe portion corresponding to the portion of the substrate 211 that haslow bending rigidity, it is possible to make the difference of thebending rigidity in the surface of the substrate 211 be within aprescribed range. This prescribed range is a range in which it ispossible for the circuits in at least the region of the substrate 211having low rigidity and the circuits of the substrate on which thesubstrate 211 is stacked to be able to be bonded to each other, in astate where the deformation occurs in the substrate 211 during thebonding wave.

Furthermore, in the example described above, a case is described inwhich the correcting section 601 is provided to the lower stage 332.However, the correcting section 601 may be provided to the upper stage322 and the substrate 213 on the top side in the drawing may becorrected. Furthermore, the correcting section 601 may be provided toboth the lower stage 332 and the upper stage 322, and the correction maybe performed on both of the substrates 211 and 213. Yet further, anothercorrection method that has already been described or another correctionmethod that will be described further below may be combined with thecorrection method described above.

Furthermore, instead of or in addition to the substrate holder 221, theholding surface of the stage or the like that holds the substrate 211may be a curved surface reflecting the target correction amount. Yetfurther, even when the substrate 211 is stacked without using thesubstrate holder 221, it is possible to restrict the unevenness if thestretching state of the substrate 213 by making the holding surface onthe holding section of the stage or the like holding the substrate 211 acurved surface reflecting the target correction amount.

Instead of or in addition to any one of the methods described above, theshift caused by the unevenness of the amount of deformation when bondingmay be corrected by adjusting the temperature of the substrate 211. Inthis case, when the amount of deformation of the portion of thesubstrate in the 45° direction is larger than in other portions, forexample, this portion is made to extend by being heated, or portionsother than the portion in the 45° direction are made to contract bybeing cooled.

FIG. 24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another correctingsection 602, and shows one example of controlling the progression of thecontact, with the substrate 213, of a region of the one substrate 211corresponding to the progression direction in which the amount ofdeformation is greater than in other progression directions. Thecorrecting section 602 is incorporated in the substrate holder 223 thatis used by the upper stage 322 of the aligner 300.

The correcting section 602 is provided to the substrate holder 223 andincludes a plurality of opening portions 426 that open toward thesubstrate 213 held by the substrate holder 223. One end of each openingportion 426 passes through the upper stage 322 to communicate with thepressure source via a valve 424. The pressure source 422 is apressurized fluid such as compressed dried air, for example. The valves424 are individually opened and closed under the control of the controlsection 150. When a valve 424 is open, the pressurized fluid is ejectedfrom the corresponding opening portion 426.

FIG. 25 shows a layout of the opening portions 426 in the correctingsection 602. The opening portions 426 are arranged across the entireholding surface of the substrate holder 223 holding the substrate 213.Accordingly, by opening any one of the valves 424, it is possible toeject the pressurized fluid toward the bottom in the drawing at anarbitrary position in the holding surface of the substrate holder 223.

The substrate holder 223 holds the substrate 213 using a electrostaticchuck, for example. The electrostatic chuck can eliminate the attractiveforce by cutting off the power supply, but a time lag occurs until thesubstrate 213 held by the residual charge or the like is released.Therefore, it is possible to immediately release the substrate 213 byejecting the pressurized fluid from the opening portions 426 across theentire substrate holder 223 immediately after the supply of power to theelectrostatic chuck is cut off.

FIG. 26 is a schematic view for describing the correction operation ofthe correcting section 602. FIG. 26 shows a portion of the substrates211 and 213 in the stacking process, in the same manner as in FIG. 9.

In the stacking process, as described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12,the substrate 213 being stacked on the substrate 211 experiencesstretching deformation on the bottom surface in the drawing being bondedto the substrate 211, at the boundary K between the region alreadybonded to the substrate 211 and the region that is to be bonded but isstill distanced from the substrate 211. Here, when the pressurized fluid427 is ejected from the top in the drawing by the correcting section 602at the region near the boundary K where deformation occurs in thesubstrate 213, the substrate 213 is pressed toward the other substrate211 and the amount of deformation is reduced. In this way, thestretching amount of the substrate 213 can be corrected to be smaller atthe location at which the pressurized fluid is blown.

In this way, since it is possible to restrict the stretching deformationin the substrate 213 due to the operation of the correcting section 602,it is possible to correct the misalignment of the circuit regions 216caused by the uneven stretching amount between the substrates 211 and213. In the correcting section 602, the opening portions 426 can ejectthe pressurized fluid individually. Accordingly, even when thestretching amount distribution of the substrate 213 to be corrected isuneven, it is possible to perform the correction using differentcorrection amounts for each region of the substrate 213.

Accordingly, in the aligner 300 including the correcting section 602,the unevenness of the rigidity is investigated in advance based on thecrystal orientation of the substrate 213, the arrangement of thestructures, the thickness distribution, and the like, and it is possibleto correct the stretching amount of the substrate 213 by, for example,blowing the pressurized fluid from the opening portions 426 onto theregion of the substrate 213 having larger shift amounts from among theregion having low bending rigidity and the region having high bendingrigidity. In this way, it is possible to restrict the misalignment ofthe circuit regions 216 in the layered structure substrate 230manufactured by stacking the substrates 211 and 213.

For example, if the region of the substrate 213 with high bendingrigidity has a large misalignment amount, when the protrusion amount orcurvature of the correcting section 602 shown in FIG. 21 is determinedusing a low-rigidity region, in which the shift amount is to becorrected for a region of the substrate 213 with low rigidity, as areference, it is possible to reduce the shift amount in thehigh-rigidity region by blowing the pressurized fluid onto thehigh-rigidity region.

In the example described above, a case is described in which thecorrecting section 602 is provided to the upper stage 322. However, inthe aligner 300 having a structure in which the substrate 211 held bythe lower stage 332 deforms, the correcting section 602 may be providedto the lower stage 332 and the substrate 211 on the bottom side in thedrawing may be corrected. Furthermore, the correcting section 602 may beprovided to both the lower stage 332 and the upper stage 322, and thecorrection may be performed on both of the substrates 211 and 213.

Yet further, another correction method that has already been describedor another correction method that will be described further below may becombined with the correction method described above. In addition, thecorrecting section 602 can be incorporated in the aligner 300 and usedtogether with the correcting section 601 shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 27 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another correctingsection 603. The correcting section 603 is incorporated in the substrateholders 221 and 223 used by the aligner 300.

The correcting section 603 includes switches 434, electrostatic chucks436, and a voltage source 432. The electrostatic chucks 436 are embeddedin the substrate holders 221 and 223. Each electrostatic chuck 436 iscoupled to the common voltage source 432 via an independent switch 434.In this way, when the switches 434 are opened and closed under thecontrol of the control section 150, each electrostatic chuck 436attracts the substrate 211 or 213 thereto by generating an attractiveforce on the surface of the substrate holder 221 or 223.

The electrostatic chucks 436 in the correcting section 603 are arrangedacross the entire holding surface of each of the substrate holders 221and 223 holding the substrates 211 and 213, in the same manner as theopening portions 426 of the correcting section 602 shown in FIG. 25. Inthis way, the substrate holders 221 and 223 each include a plurality ofattractive regions. Accordingly, when any one of the switches 434 isclosed, the corresponding electrostatic chuck 436 generates anattractive force and the attractive force acts on the substratessubstrate 211 and 213 at an arbitrary position on the holding surface ofthe substrate holder 223. When all of the switches 434 are closed, allof the electrostatic chucks 436 generate an attractive force, and thesubstrates 211 and 213 are held firmly by the substrate holders 221 and223.

FIG. 28 is a diagram for describing the correction operation of thecorrecting section 603. FIG. 28 shows a portion of the substrates 211and 213 in the stacking process, in the same manner as in FIG. 9.

In the stacking process, as described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12,the substrate 213 being stacked on the substrate 211 experiencesstretching deformation on the bottom surface in the drawing being bondedto the substrate 211, at the boundary K between the region alreadybonded to the substrate 211 and the region that is to be bonded but isstill distanced from the substrate 211. Here, when the attractive forceacts on the substrate 213 from above due to the correcting section 603at the region near the boundary K where the deformation occurs in thesubstrate 213, deformation occurs in the substrate 213 that is largerthan the deformation occurring when correction is not performed, asshown by the dotted line in the drawing. In this way, it is possible toincrease the stretching amount of the substrate 213 at the locationwhere am electrostatic chuck 436 operates.

This correction is performed on portions where the shift amount, i.e.the amount of deformation, caused by the rigidity distribution of thesubstrate is large. For example, in the silicon single-crystal substrate208 shown in FIG. 16, when the shift amount is greater in the 0° and 90°directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° direction being low,the attractive force of the electrostatic chucks 436 corresponding tothe 45° direction among the plurality of electrostatic chucks 436 of thesubstrate holder 223 is made larger than the attractive force of theelectrostatic chucks 436 corresponding to the 0° and 90° directions.

Furthermore, in the process of stacking the pair of substrates 211 and213 on each other by releasing the attraction of the substrate 213 tothe substrate holder 223, when the holding of the substrate 211 by thesubstrate holder 221 on the lower stage 332 is partially released, inthis region, the substrate 211 on the bottom side floats up from thesubstrate holder 221 to follow the substrate 213 on the top side. Inthis way, the deformation in the substrate 211 on the bottom side isameliorated, and it is possible to further decrease the stretchingamount.

This correction is performed on portions where the shift amount, i.e.the amount of deformation, caused by the rigidity distribution of thesubstrate is large. For example, in the silicon single-crystal substrate208 shown in FIG. 16, when the shift amount is greater in the 0° and 90°directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° direction being low,the electrostatic chucks 436 corresponding to the 45° direction amongthe plurality of electrostatic chucks 436 of the substrate holder 221sequentially release the substrate in accordance with the degree ofprogression of the contact between the pair of substrates 211 and 213.In this way, by controlling the setting and change of the holding forceon the substrate 211 held by the lower stage 332 according to therigidity distribution of the substrate 211, it is possible to reduce thedifference in the amount of deformation caused by the rigiditydistribution in the substrate.

In this way, it is possible to encourage or restrict the stretchingdeformation in the substrates 211 and 213 as a result of the operationof the correcting section 603. Furthermore, the electrostatic chucks 436arranged across the entirety of each of the substrate holders 221 and223 can individually generate or cut off the attractive force.Accordingly, even when the stretching amount in the substrates 211 and213 has an uneven and complex distribution, it is possible to performcorrection with the correcting section 603.

In the example described above, the substrates 211 and 213 are stackedas a result of the autonomous bonding of the substrate 213 on thesubstrate 211 held by the lower stage 332, which is realized byreleasing the hold on the substrate 213 by the upper stage 322 all atonce. However, the autonomous bonding of the substrate 213 may berestricted and the expansion of the region where the substrates 211 and213 contact each other, i.e. the degree of progression of the contact,may be controlled by sequentially eliminating the attractive force ofthe electrostatic chucks 436 from the center of the substrate toward theoutside in the surface direction of the upper stage 322. In this way, itis possible to restrict the misalignment distribution from becominguneven due to the accumulation of misalignment closer to the edgeportions.

In this way, by controlling the setting and change of the holding forceon the substrate 211 held by the upper stage 322 according to therigidity distribution of the substrate 211, it is possible to reduce thedifference in the amount of deformation caused by the rigiditydistribution in the substrate. Furthermore, the above describes anexample in which the substrates are held by electrostatic chucks, butinstead of or in addition to this, the substrates may be held by vacuumchucks.

In this case, the density of pins provided on the holding surfaceholding the substrate may be set according to the rigidity distributionof the substrate. For example, in the silicon single-crystal substrate208 shown in FIG. 16, when the shift amount is greater in the 0° and 90°directions due to the bending rigidity in the 45° direction being low,by making the density of the pins arranged at positions corresponding tothe 45° direction less than the density of the pins arranged atpositions corresponding to the 0° and 90° directions, it is possible toreduce the attractive force acting on the region in the 45° direction.

In the method described above, instead of or in addition to adjustingthe pin density, the attractive force used when holding the substrate211 may be adjusted. For example, the holding surface holding thesubstrate 211 may be divided into a plurality of regions and theattractive force may be changed for each region according to the amountof deformation of the substrate. In this way, if the direction of thenotch 214 is 0°, for example, when the amount of deformation of theportion in the 45° direction is large, the attractive force of the fourregions corresponding to this portion is made smaller than theattractive force of other regions. In this way, it is possible tocorrect regions where the amount of deformation is large in differentportions.

Furthermore, even when stacking the substrates 211 and 213 by continuingto hold the substrate 213 with the upper stage 322 and releasing thehold on the substrate 211 by the lower stage 332, it is possible tocorrect the stretching amount of the substrates 211 and 213 using thecorrecting section 603 in the same manner as described above.

When one substrate among the substrates being stacked on each other is asubstrate that experiences significant initial distortion or significantwarping deformation during circuit formation, oxide film formation, orthe like or a silicon single-crystal substrate 209 having complexcrystal orientation such as shown in FIG. 17, for example, thissubstrate is preferably secured to the lower stage 332. In this way, itis possible to simplify the shift correction control.

Another correction method that has already been described or anothercorrection method that will be described further below may be combinedwith the correction method described above. In addition, the correctingsection 603 can be incorporated in the aligner 300 and used togetherwith the correcting section 601 shown in FIG. 18 and the correctingsection 602 shown in FIG. 24.

In this way, it is possible to restrict or prevent misalignment of thecircuit regions 216 caused by the uneven stretching amount in thesubstrates 211 and 213, by individually correcting the substrate 211 andthe 213 or by performing correction in the step of stacking thesubstrates 211 and 213. In this way, the layered structure substrates230 can be manufactured with good yield.

In the example described above, the centers of the substrates 211 and213 being stacked contact each other first, but as long as simultaneouscontact at a plurality of locations is avoided, the substrates 211 and213 may contact each other at other locations, such as the edgeportions. In this case, in the same manner as in the example describedabove, the one substrate among the substrates 211 and 213 being stackedon each other is deformed in advance according to the different amountof deformation caused by the deformation distribution of the othersubstrate that is being released from being held, i.e. the direction inwhich the contact region between the substrates 211 and 213 expands,which is the progression direction of the bonding wave, and theprogression of the bonding wave of the other substrate is controlled. Atthis time, crystal direction and the stress distortion direction of thesubstrate released from the hold of the stage or the substrate holderare preferably along the progression direction of the bonding wave. Forexample, in the silicon single-crystal substrate 208 shown in FIG. 16,by causing the 0° direction to be along the progression direction of thebonding wave, the stretching amount of the silicon single-crystalsubstrate 208 occurring during the bonding wave becomes uniform. In thisway, it is possible to reduce the difference of the amount ofdeformation in the silicon single-crystal substrate 208 caused by therigidity distribution.

The shape of the boundary K that expands in accordance with the stackingfrom an initial contact location may be another shape, such as a line oran ellipse. Furthermore, the above example is described such that thecorrection appears to be performed on known substrates 211 and 213, butin the process of designing and manufacturing the substrates 211 and213, the mechanical specifications such as the bending rigidity may beconsidered in a manner to prevent unevenness.

In the example described above, the silicon single-crystal substrate isprovided as an example, and the substrate is formed from single-crystalsilicon in the present embodiment, but it is obvious that the substratesbeing stacked are not limited to being silicon single-crystalsubstrates. Examples of other substrates include an SiGe substrate dopedwith Ge and a Ge single-crystal substrate. Furthermore, the presentinvention can be adopted for compound semiconductor substrates such asgroup III-V or group II-VI substrates.

In the present embodiment, the term “bonding” refers to a state in whichthe terminals provided to two substrates layered according to a methoddescribed in the present embodiment are connected to each other toensure electrical conduction between the two substrates 210 or a statein which the degree of bonding between the two substrates is greaterthan or equal to a prescribed strength, or to a state in which, as aresult of performing an annealing process or the like on the substratesafter the substrates have been layered according to a method describedin the present embodiment, the two substrates are ultimatelyelectrically connected to each other or the degree of bonding betweenthe two substrates is greater than or equal to a prescribed strength andthe two substrates are temporarily bonded, i.e. tentative bonding. Thestate of tentative bonding includes a state in which the two stackedsubstrates can be separated from each other and reused.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, thetechnical scope of the invention is not limited to the above describedembodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousalterations and improvements can be added to the above-describedembodiments. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that theembodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be includedin the technical scope of the invention.

The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performedby an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims,embodiments, or diagrams can be performed in any order as long as theorder is not indicated by “prior to,” “before,” or the like and as longas the output from a previous process is not used in a later process.Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as “first” or“next” in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams, it does not necessarilymean that the process must be performed in this order.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

100: substrate stacking apparatus, 110: case, 120, 130: substratecassette, 140: transfer robot, 150: control section, 208, 209: siliconsingle-crystal substrate, 210, 211, 213, 501, 502: substrate, 212:scribe line, 214: notch, 216: circuit region, 218: alignment mark, 220,221, 222, 223: substrate holder, 426: opening portion, 230: layeredstructure substrate, 300: aligner, 301: floor surface, 310: frame, 312:bottom plate, 314: support column, 316: top plate, 322: upper stage,324: microscope, 326, 336: activation apparatus, 331: X-direction drivesection, 332: lower stage, 333: Y-direction drive section, 338: raisingand lowering drive section, 400: holder stocker, 411: base portion, 412:actuator, 413: attracting section, 414: support column, 415: pump, 416,424: valve, 422: pressure source, 427: pressurized fluid, 432: voltagesource, 434: switch, 436: electrostatic chuck, 500: pre-aligner, 601,602, 603: correcting section

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing method for processing atleast one of a first substrate and a second substrate to be stacked oneach other, comprising: obtaining a correction amount to correctmisalignment to be occurred between the first substrate and the secondsubstrate; and forming a structure on each of the first substrate andthe second substrate, the structure of the at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate being formed at a position determinedbased on the obtained correction amount, wherein the structure of the atleast one of the first substrate and the second substrate is a chipformed in the at least one of the first substrate and the secondsubstrate while adjusting at least one of (i) intervals between aplurality of chips, (ii) shapes of the plurality of chips, (iii)intervals of shots, and (iv) shapes of the shots, the shots including aplurality of chips.
 2. The substrate processing method according toclaim 1, wherein the structure of the at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate is formed at the position accordingto an amount of deformation of the first substrate.
 3. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 2, wherein the amount ofdeformation includes an amount of deformation generated in the firstsubstrate during a process of stacking the first substrate and thesecond substrate on each other.
 4. The substrate processing methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the position of the structure variesdepending on a radial direction within a plane of the at least one ofthe first substrate and the second substrate.
 5. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the forming includesforming a plurality of structures on the at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate such that intervals between theplurality of structures change from a center toward an edge of the atleast one of the first substrate and the second substrate.
 6. Thesubstrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the chip isformed by exposing the at least one of the first substrate and thesecond substrate, and the plurality of chips are formed by a singleexposure.
 7. The substrate processing method according to claim 6,wherein an amount of change in at least one of the intervals of theplurality of chips, the shapes of the plurality of chips, the intervalsof the shots, and the shapes of the shots vary depending on theposition.
 8. The substrate processing method according to claim 1,further comprising: restricting the misalignment when stacking the firstsubstrate and the second substrate on each other.
 9. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the forming includesforming the structure on the first substrate such that a modulus ofelasticity of the first substrate is partially changed.
 10. Thesubstrate processing method according to claim 9, wherein the structureis formed on a scribe line of the first substrate.
 11. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 1, further comprising: selectingthe first substrate and the second substrate such that a difference inan amount of deformation in a direction corresponding to each otherbetween the first substrate and the second substrate is less than orequal to a prescribed value; and releasing holding of the firstsubstrate from a first holding section and releasing holding of thesecond substrate from a second holding section, when stacking the firstsubstrate and the second substrate on each other.
 12. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 1, further comprising: activating abonding surface of each of the first substrate and the second substrateto a degree of activation, wherein the degree of activation of at leastone of the first substrate and the second substrate is adjustedaccording to an amount of deformation of the first substrate.
 13. Thesubstrate processing method according to claim 1, further comprising:setting the first substrate to be a substrate, between two substrates tobe stacked on each other, having at least one of a distortion amount anda warping amount that is smaller in a state where the two substrates arenot held.
 14. The substrate processing method according to claim 1,further comprising: setting the first substrate to be a substrate,between two substrates to be stacked on each other, having a smallerdifference in an amount of deformation.
 15. The substrate processingmethod according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating at leastone of the position, at which the structure is formed on the firstsubstrate, and the position, at which the structure is formed on thesecond substrate, such that the misalignment is restricted between thestructure of the first substrate and the structure of the secondsubstrate once the first substrate and the second substrate have beenstacked on each other.
 16. The substrate processing method according toclaim 1, wherein the substrate stack retains the restricted misalignmentwhen separated from a substrate stacking apparatus.
 17. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the forming includesforming a plurality of structures on the at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate while adjusting at least one of (i)intervals between the plurality of structures, and (ii) shapes of theplurality of structures.
 18. The substrate processing method accordingto claim 17, wherein the transferring the pattern is done by performingexposure.
 19. A substrate processing system, comprising: a bondingapparatus configured to stack a first substrate and a second substrateon each other and obtain a correction amount to correct misalignment tobe occurred between the first substrate and the second substrate; and anexposure apparatus configured to form a structure on at least one of thefirst substrate and the second substrate by exposing the at least one ofthe first substrate and the second substrate at a position determinedbased on the obtained correction amount, wherein the structure of the atleast one of the first substrate and the second substrate is a chipformed in the at least one of the first substrate and the secondsubstrate while adjusting at least one of (i) intervals between aplurality of chips, (ii) shapes of the plurality of chips, (iii)intervals of exposure shots, and (iv) shapes of the exposure shots. 20.An exposure method for forming a structure on each of a first substrateand a second substrate to be stacked on each other by exposing the firstsubstrate and the second substrate, comprising: obtaining a correctionamount to correct misalignment to be occurred between the firstsubstrate and the second substrate; and forming, on at least one of thefirst substrate and the second substrate, the structure at a positiondetermined based on the obtained correction amount, wherein thestructure of the at least one of the first substrate and the secondsubstrate is a chip formed in the at least one of the first substrateand the second substrate while adjusting at least one of (i) intervalsbetween a plurality of chips, (ii) shapes of the plurality of chips,(iii) intervals of exposure shots, and (iv) shapes of the exposureshots.
 21. A substrate processing method for processing at least one ofa first substrate and a second substrate to be stacked on each other,comprising: transferring a pattern on at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate, wherein the pattern of the at leastone of the first substrate and the second substrate is a chip formed inthe at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate whileadjusting at least one of (i) intervals between a plurality of chips,(ii) shapes of the plurality of chips, (iii) intervals of shots, and(iv) shapes of the shots, the shots including a plurality of chips. 22.The substrate processing method according to claim 21, wherein thetransferring the pattern is done by performing exposure.
 23. A substrateprocessing method for processing at least one of a first substrate and asecond substrate to be stacked on each other, comprising: transferring apattern on each of the first substrate and the second substrate, thepattern of the at least one of the first substrate and the secondsubstrate being formed at a position such that misalignment isrestricted between the pattern of the first substrate and the pattern ofthe second substrate, wherein the pattern of the at least one of thefirst substrate and the second substrate is a chip formed in the atleast one of the first substrate and the second substrate whileadjusting at least one of (i) intervals between a plurality of chips,(ii) shapes of the plurality of chips, (iii) intervals of shots, and(iv) shapes of the shots, the shots including a plurality of chips. 24.A substrate processing method for processing at least one of a firstsubstrate and a second substrate to be stacked on each other,comprising: measuring a misalignment amount between a third substrateand a fourth substrate, the measuring being performed after the thirdsubstrate and the fourth substrate have been stacked on each other;obtaining a correction amount to correct misalignment to be occurredbetween the first substrate and the second substrate based on themeasured misalignment amount between the third substrate and the fourthsubstrate; and forming a structure on each of the first substrate andthe second substrate, the structure of the at least one of the firstsubstrate and the second substrate being formed at a position determinedbased on the obtained correction amount.
 25. The substrate processingmethod according to claim 24, wherein the third substrate has the samespecification as the first substrate and the fourth substrate has thesame specification as the second substrate.
 26. A substrate processingsystem, comprising: a first apparatus configured to measure amisalignment amount between a first test substrate and a second testsubstrate after the first test substrate and the second test substratehave been stacked on each other; and obtain a correction amount tocorrect misalignment to be occurred between a first substrate and asecond substrate to be stacked on each other based on the measuredmisalignment amount between the first test substrate and the second testsubstrate; and a second apparatus configured to form a structure on atleast one of the first substrate and the second substrate at a positiondetermined based on the obtained correction amount.
 27. The substrateprocessing system according to claim 26, wherein the first testsubstrate has the same specification as the first substrate and thesecond test substrate has the same specification as the secondsubstrate.
 28. An exposure method for forming a structure on each of afirst substrate and a second substrate to be stacked on each other byexposing the first substrate and the second substrate, comprising:measuring a misalignment amount between a third substrate and a fourthsubstrate, the measuring being performed after the third substrate andthe fourth substrate have been stacked on each other; obtaining acorrection amount to correct misalignment to be occurred between thefirst substrate and the second substrate based on the measuredmisalignment amount between the third substrate and the fourthsubstrate; and forming, on at least one of the first substrate and thesecond substrate, the structure at a position determined based on theobtained correction amount.
 29. The exposure method according to claim28, wherein the third substrate has the same specification as the firstsubstrate and the fourth substrate has the same specification as thesecond substrate.